Pruning Proteas
This pruning guide is designed specifically for Protea varieties
Pruning Proteas correctly is essential for maintaining plant health, shape and reliable flowering. This expert pruning guide explains when and how to prune Protea plants to achieve the best results in Australian conditions.
Proteas operate on a two-year flowering cycle, meaning careful, selective pruning is required to preserve next season’s blooms while encouraging new growth.
Understanding the Protea Growth Cycle
The most important principle when pruning Proteas is to only prune stems that have flowered in the current season.
Flowering stems this year will not flower again
Non-flowering stems will produce next season’s blooms
If all stems are pruned at once, flowering will be significantly reduced or completely absent the following year.
Step-by-Step Pruning Guide
1. Identify a Finished Flower
Begin with a stem that has a spent (finished) flower head. This is the stem that should be pruned.
See example image below.
To prune a Protea correctly it helps to understand about how they grow. Each year, new growth is put on by the plant. This can be identified by looking at the stem. When you look closely, you can see the point where the previous years’ growth finished and the newer growth began (Image 2). You will notice a change in the stem colour and often see smaller and different shaped leaves at this point as well.
Once you have identified the different points of growth, simply cut the stem back in the previous years’ growth leaving approximately 10cm – 15cm of healthy stem with leaves (Image 3).
Image 2
Image 3
You will end up with a stem as below (Image 4). By pruning like this, you encourage the plant to fill out and develop a nice shape rather than growing too tall which occurs if pruning happens too high up the stem. Prune all other stems with finished flowers in the same way.
Note: Do not prune stems without finished flowers unless they need tidying up (e.g. they are misshapen or growing on the ground).
Image 4
One of the common mistakes that people make when pruning Proteas is cutting directly under the flower. This encourages new shoots to begin to grow from this top point, which causes the plant to become taller and more untidy in shape. Instead, prune the plant as we have described above for best results.
The end result
Notice we have left the un-open buds on the bush. You can wait until these last buds have opened before pruning them in the same way as above. The remaining un-pruned stems will be our flowers for next year.
By following these easy steps you can create a well shaped, healthy plant which produces fantastic colour and flowers for years to come.
For information on pruning your Leucadendrons, we recommend reading Pruning Leucadendrons.